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Senator Ted Kennedy will be remembered today at a funeral service in Boston. The late senator will be later laid to rest in Arlington cemetery next to his brothers he eulogized over 40 years ago. Several 2010 candidates for governor have provided their thoughts on Senator Kennedy’s passing and legacy. Continue reading →

Levi Johnston says that he would not vote for Sarah Palin if she ran for President or Vice-President. Johnston says he wouldn’t vote for someone who “quit on Alaska” and “couldn’t handle the stress” of the job. Politically what does this amount to? A big pile of jack squat!

I’m getting on the boat to Rockland from North Haven in a few hours. It’s damp and cold; I’m not looking forward to that ride.

I’ve tried to search out as many Maine political and education blogs as possible. I can’t imagine I’ve got links to everyone. So if you’re out there and I don’t have you listed let me know. I hate to miss reading or sharing links with anyone.

Maybe independence is in our blood up here. Politically, Mainers have always been fond those willing to break party lines. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe have managed to get reelected time and time again. That is in spite of the fact Maine is part of one of the strongest liberal regions in the nations. We have a soft spot for independents and third parties too. Angus King, an independent, held the Blaine House for two terms. During his tenure, King was one of only two governors not affiliated with a national party. The other was the surprising Jesse Ventura. In the last election a majority of voters (39%) were “independent or something else“.

The Maine Green Party draws from those strong numbers. The Maine Green Independent Party began 25 years ago with 18 members. Today their numbers have reached 32,000. In the 2006 gubernatorial election, Green Candidate Pat LaMarche grabbed 10% of the vote. The doesn’t seem like much, but when you consider she was in a 5 way race, those are damn good numbers for a third party candidate. The Greens hold 18 elected positions, all on the local and county level. Maine also held the distinction of having the highest elected Green from 2002-2006 in Maine State House member John Eder. I lived in town during those years. When election season rolled around you could see Eder’s bold green campaign signs in a vast number of windows. Versions so faded they are almost white still lurk in many windows.

Downeast Magazine has run a nice article on the Maine Greens history and future hopes. Whether you support the Green platform or not, the article is still a must read for those interested in independent and third party politics. Say what you will, but the Maine Greens are well on their way to proving third parties can succeed.

Twenty-five years ago, when the Maine Green Party was founded as the first Green political organization in the country, its often-chaotic meetings earned it a reputation as “a prime example of creative dysfunction,” as one exasperated participant said at the time. Ben Chipman, of Portland, laughs out loud at the anecdote. In recent years he has worked on or managed the campaigns of sixteen Green Party candidates and won ten of them. Portland’s Green Independent Party (as it’s now known) currently has three members on the city council, two on the school committee, and two more on the Portland Water District Board. The first Green elected to state-level office in the United States was John Eder, who served two terms in the Maine Legislature from a Portland district…Read More.

Maybe independence is in our blood up here. Politically, Mainers have always been fond those willing to break party lines. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe have managed to get reelected time and time again. That is in spite of the fact Maine is part of one of the strongest liberal regions in the nations. We have a soft spot for independents and third parties too. Angus King, an independent, held the Blaine House for two terms. During his tenure, King was one of only two governors not affiliated with a national party. The other was the surprising Jesse Ventura. In the last election a majority of voters (39%) were “independent or something else“.

The Maine Green Party draws from those strong numbers. The Maine Green Independent Party began 25 years ago with 18 members. Today their numbers have reached 32,000. In the 2006 gubernatorial election, Green Candidate Pat LaMarche grabbed 10% of the vote. The doesn’t seem like much, but when you consider she was in a 5 way race, those are damn good numbers for a third party candidate. The Greens hold 18 elected positions, all on the local and county level. Maine also held the distinction of having the highest elected Green from 2002-2006 in Maine State House member John Eder. I lived in town during those years. When election season rolled around you could see Eder’s bold green campaign signs in a vast number of windows. Versions so faded they are almost white still lurk in many windows.

Downeast Magazine has run a nice article on the Maine Greens history and future hopes. Whether you support the Green platform or not, the article is still a must read for those interested in independent and third party politics. Say what you will, but the Maine Greens are well on their way to proving third parties can succeed.

Twenty-five years ago, when the Maine Green Party was founded as the first Green political organization in the country, its often-chaotic meetings earned it a reputation as “a prime example of creative dysfunction,” as one exasperated participant said at the time. Ben Chipman, of Portland, laughs out loud at the anecdote. In recent years he has worked on or managed the campaigns of sixteen Green Party candidates and won ten of them. Portland’s Green Independent Party (as it’s now known) currently has three members on the city council, two on the school committee, and two more on the Portland Water District Board. The first Green elected to state-level office in the United States was John Eder, who served two terms in the Maine Legislature from a Portland district…Read More.

Maybe independence is in our blood up here. Politically, Mainers have always been fond those willing to break party lines. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe have managed to get reelected time and time again. That is in spite of the fact Maine is part of one of the strongest liberal regions in the nations. We have a soft spot for independents and third parties too. Angus King, an independent, held the Blaine House for two terms. During his tenure, King was one of only two governors not affiliated with a national party. The other was the surprising Jesse Ventura. In the last election a majority of voters (39%) were “independent or something else“.

The Maine Green Party draws from those strong numbers. The Maine Green Independent Party began 25 years ago with 18 members. Today their numbers have reached 32,000. In the 2006 gubernatorial election, Green Candidate Pat LaMarche grabbed 10% of the vote. The doesn’t seem like much, but when you consider she was in a 5 way race, those are damn good numbers for a third party candidate. The Greens hold 18 elected positions, all on the local and county level. Maine also held the distinction of having the highest elected Green from 2002-2006 in Maine State House member John Eder. I lived in town during those years. When election season rolled around you could see Eder’s bold green campaign signs in a vast number of windows. Versions so faded they are almost white still lurk in many windows.

Downeast Magazine has run a nice article on the Maine Greens history and future hopes. Whether you support the Green platform or not, the article is still a must read for those interested in independent and third party politics. Say what you will, but the Maine Greens are well on their way to proving third parties can succeed.

Twenty-five years ago, when the Maine Green Party was founded as the first Green political organization in the country, its often-chaotic meetings earned it a reputation as “a prime example of creative dysfunction,” as one exasperated participant said at the time. Ben Chipman, of Portland, laughs out loud at the anecdote. In recent years he has worked on or managed the campaigns of sixteen Green Party candidates and won ten of them. Portland’s Green Independent Party (as it’s now known) currently has three members on the city council, two on the school committee, and two more on the Portland Water District Board. The first Green elected to state-level office in the United States was John Eder, who served two terms in the Maine Legislature from a Portland district…Read More.

Before Barack Obama was even elected comparisons were drawn between Obama and Abraham Lincoln. Both were junior senators from Illinois. Both were seen as uniters. Obama used the Lincoln Bible during his inauguration. Lincoln and Obama are both known as gifted orators. Did you know they both had a penchant for off color jokes?

Mr. Obama’s humor has gotten him into hot water in the past. Shortly after Obama was elected he made a remark on Nancy Reagan’s use of astrology while in the White House. At a Chicago conference Obama mentioned that he had spoken with all the living past presidents. Then Mr. Obama said, “I didn’t want to get into a Nancy Reagan thing about doing any seances.” Not wise Barry.

Then came the Tonight Show fiasco. If we learned anything from W it’s that you can’t speak in public like you do with your sports buddies.

Lincoln however was much worse. While Obama’s humor is for the barroom at best, Lincoln’s is too blue for even the whorehouse. Fred Kaplan, whose excellent book I happen to be reading, documents Lincoln’s locker room talk. Lincoln was known for his profanity and obscenity almost as well as for his eloquence and persuasiveness. Here are a few examples of Lincoln’s dirty mind

Here’s an example of a couple of verses from the poem as recalled by John Romaine:

“Reuben & Charles have married 2 girls / But Billy has married a boy . . . Billy and natty agree very well / Mamma is pleased with the match. / The Egg is laid but won’t hatch.” And Billy, another Grigsby son, is told by the woman who has rejected his marriage proposal, “you Cursed ball head / My Suitor you never Can be / besides your low Croch proclaims you a botch / and that never Can anser for me.”

Henry Whitney recalled how Lincoln once went after a witness who thought himself a great ladies man:

“…[Lincoln said,] ‘there is Busey–he pretends to be a great heart smasher–does wonderful things with the girls–but I’ll venture that he never entered his flesh but once and that is when he fell down & stuck his finger in his–‘; right out in open Court.”

Once a farmer asked Lincoln why he didn’t put his stories in a book. Lincoln replied,

“Such a book would stink like a thousand privies.'” Whitney commented, “I can’t think he gloated over filth however. I think that…he had great ideality and also a view of grossness which displaced the ideality.”

Thankfully for Lincoln, such vulgarities were not completely frowned upon in his time. Politics was downright rude and slanderous. Oh how things have changed! Still, Mr. Obama had better keep his words in check. One slip can alienate a whole voting block. Don’t believe me? I just have one word for you. Hymietown.